SODON

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Mongoloid, he was a mongoloidhis friends were unawareMongoloid, he was a mongoloidnobody even caredMongoloid, he was a mongoloidone chromosome too manyMongoloid, he was a mongoloidand it determined what he could see

Gerald Casale (DEVO band, USA)

This is the lyrics of a song called "Mongoloid", written by Gerald Casale , a member of "DEVO", an American rock band formed in 1972 in Ohio, USA. Mongoloid is a term used to describe people with Down's syndrome. It actually all started when doctor, John Langdon Down (after whom Down's syndrome was named), who studied this behavior while working as medical superintendent at the Royal Earlswood Hospital in England ( built to house and educate those disabled people , or "idiots" as they were termed at that time), decided to call his patients as "Mongol." He wrote in 1866 that "...these children were a regression to a Mongolian ethnic type."

We are talking about his patients (children with Down's syndrome) who came to this institution from all over the country (England). They did not come from Mongolia. Nor there is not one official document that says there were people of Mongolian ethnicity among those patients whom doctor Down worked with during that time (1855-1868). How did this doctor came up with the term "Mongol" to bring it into connection with that syndrome? I think, because of the Mongolian invasion back few centuries ago, the western part of the world, which didn't suffer directly from that aggression but remained puzzled and confused with all types of mystical rumors and hearings went around. Rumors exclusively depicted Mongols as wild barbarians, cannibals with looks and characteristics hardly resembles a "normal" human being, allegedly having certain anomalies. Doctor Down was not saved from this perception either. What else could it be?! I am positive that doctor Down had never visited Mongolia back then (and I doubt he ever met a Mongol either), and I don't think that there were so many children present from Mongolia, or even any intermarriages between English people and Mongolians at that time.

Long story short, this term is still being used to describe those with such syndrome until today. The proof ? What about the song ("Mongoloid") I mentioned in the beginning, or the story of a Mongolian woman in Scotland ( read this story HERE ) , or the movie called "The guitar Mongoloid" (in Swedish: "Gitarrmongot" ) directed by Ruben Oestlund (Sweden) in 2004 ?

Ruben Oestlund (Sweden)

Do you see what Dr.Down has done? Even though he later admitted it was a failure, the harm was done. Unfortunately, people like Gerald Casale or Ruben Oestlund keep contributing to promote this misunderstanding by their song or movie. What would the new generation perceive when they learn this song or watch the movie? That is how this practice is kept alive. Their products have been distributed by others too, making them really efficient propaganda tools. There is a German guy goes by the name "Rummelsnuff" who took DEVO's song "Mongoloid" into his song list and sings while acting like one with Down's syndrome in his video. There is also a music band called Sepultura which covers this song too. So, the list can go on.Ruben Oestlund's movie "Gitarrmongot" was shown on the screens of film festivals, like in Moscow, Russia and recently in the US. One cannot really say how many people watched that film on those festivals and movie theaters. So, no wonder why this "habit" is not "dying out." (Watch DEVO's song here and the cover by Rummelsnuff here )Mongolians at home and abroad are angry with the fact that Ruben Oestlund's movie is on the way to be shown in the US, participating in the film festivals in different cities, and they are protesting it using all means available. This article of mine can be considered as one of them. Some Mongolian communities abroad have sent a letter to those who directed this movie. Below is a copy of this letter:

We are writing to you as ethnic Mongolians regarding your film “The Guitar Mongoloid”, which is being shown as part of film festivals in New York, Maryland and California.

We are deeply concerned and hurt by the use of the term “mongoloid” in the context of your film and are requesting that you change the name of the film in the nearest future, out of respect to the Mongolian people and to the international Down syndrome community.

The term “mongoloid”, referring to people with Down syndrome, was dropped by the World Health Organization in 1965 because it was and still is considered to be offensive to those of Mongol ethnicity.

Furthermore, in many countries, the word has come to be used as a term of offense. There are many campaigns around the world trying to stop the hurtful and offensive usage of “mongoloid” and to promote the original meaning, namely, “related to the culture, language and people of Mongolia.”

We do not expect you to reconsider your decision to show the film. However, we request the following:

That you tell the audience from today’s – Jan 16, 2015 – New York 9.15pm screening onwards that the term “mongoloid” is offensive both to Mongols and to the international Down syndrome community and that you are extremely sorry to the Mongolian and International Down syndrome community, and are planning to change the name of the film in the near future.

Edit in the same disclaimer in the future screenings of the film. Have a staff member of theatres to read the disclaimer when showing the film without disclaimer.

Put the same disclaimer on the internet, especially in the film description on your websites.

Change the name of the film out of human kindness and compassion in support of vulnerable members in society and dignity and respect of another culture and nation with rich history and its own place in the world.

Thank you, in advance, for your sensitivity to this issue. We look forward to your response.

Regards,

– Mongolians NYC Community– Mongolian Association in the UK– “Tsahim Urtuu Holboo” TBB (NGO) online community of Mongolians around the world --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lastly, I just want to say that there would be no peace, cooperation or friendship between nations and various ethnicity if there is no mutual respect. There will be only mutual enemies if this kind of stupidity continues. That what Casale and Oeslund do, cause hatred and disrespect. Why people just can't or don't want to avoid or drop something which would harm or hurt others? Are the bad people outnumbering the good ones? What should people do to stop such "provocations" which do nothing but harm people's relations? These are the questions we should ask ourselves and find answers if we want to talk about friendship and living in peace. Let us hear your voices too.p.s. The correct and original meaning of this term is "related to the culture, language and people of Mongolia and Mongolian ethnicity."

Dakar rally. This is a fascinating competition which challenges and tests both sportsman's endurance, skill and the quality or dependability of vehicles they use. It is an off-road endurance race with many stages each with distances of up to 900 km (500 miles) a day. Nowadays Dakar rally, formerly called Paris- Dakar rally, is organized annually in South America and not in Europe and Africa as it used to. Four major categories of vehicles used in the race are motorcycles, quads, cars and trucks. Currently the champions in each class are Ayrat Mardeev (Russia) team with KAMAZ (trucks), Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatari) team with MINI (cars) , Marc Coma (Spain) with KTM 450 (motorcycles), and Rafal Sonic (Poland) with Yamaha (quads).

Ayrat Mardeev (Russia)

KAMAZ truck (Russia)

KTM 450 bike (Austria)

Marc Coma (Spain)

YAMAHA Raptor 700 (quad, Japan)

Rafal Sonik (Poland)

MINI car (UK)

Nasser Al Attiyah (Qatari)

Mongolian bikers Anar Ch. (left) and Boldbaatar D.

Pilots in 2015 Dakar rally had to master 9500 km in total in 13 stages. This time 7 Mongolian drivers were present at the rally. Boldbaatar Damdinkhorloo (KTM bike) and Anar Chinbaatar (KTM bike) were the bikers from Mongolia, successfully finished with times of 65:39:18 (45th place) and 149:24:08 (78th). 79 bikers in total out of 168 could cross the finish line completing all stages. Besides these two bikers, there was a Mongolian car crew with driver Lhamaa Namchin and two other co-drivers, driving a Toyota vehicle of the Hungarian Sandlander team. They finished the race taking 62th place. Two more Mongolians participated in Dakar as co-drivers for two separate crews of the same Hungarian team.
The fact that from all participants not even half of it in bikes' class and only the half in cars class could complete the race, shows how tough the whole race was.

Boldbaatar D. (Mongolia) after finish

Mongolia's history in Dakar rally goes back to 2013. Two our bikers who first time represented Mongolia, could not complete the rally because of the technical failure of their bikes on the 6th day (Boldbaatar D.) and on the 11th day (Lhamaa N.). In 2014 three bikers have participated in the rally, but two of them couldn't complete the race, again, because of their bikes' failure, and only Boldbaatar D. completed the race finishing as 60th. And he made a progress in 2015 race finishing 45th. Let's hope that he makes it to the first best 20 bikers next year! Or even better. I wish all our racers the best success in the coming years! Go Mongolia!

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Rio Tinto, Ivanhoe Mines, Turquoise Hill, Oyu Tolgoi, Mongolia... Names familiar to many people around the world. Here is the translation of an article by Uyanga G., a member of Mongolian Parliament, who has a different perception and standpoint than maybe many others, regarding the Oyu Tolgoi project. We are talking about the third-biggest copper mine in the world. It might be interesting to hear something different from inside the country, different than the ones circulated through the world media. As a Mongol myself, I felt obligated to bring this voice to the world community by translating this article, using my humble English. The floor is yours...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Begin of the translation

By Uyanga Gantumur

Uyanga G.

A message has been going around quietly but surely that the two sides are coming to an agreement about the funding for the second stage of the Oyu Tolgoi project. We believed the Government back then that once we sign the Oyu Tolgoi agreement, money would pour in, making Mongolia a heaven, and the next investors will come flying to us like a flock of geese. Well, most of us believed that, but as for me, I didn't, and that is why I have been fighting for more than 10 years making use of all means like from march protesting to hunger strike, excluding use of guns, to oppose this unfair investment agreement of Oyu Tolgoi. Today Mongolians pay 150 million USD each year as interest payment on the amount of money we borrowed for the 34% of ownership while we have not received a mungh as profit. To make the matters worse, we also have to pay an interest-on-interest according to the term of that agreement. Soon we will start paying the money we borrowed. Then we might not be able to finance even a single kindergarten. Talks are on the way to get 4.9 billion USD more for this project, in addition to 4 billion initially agreed. We have to take it seriously since we have to pay our 34% share of that amount too, which is 1.6 billion USD , the same way we do now with the initial investment.

ONE. Simple arithmetic of Oyu Tolgoi

I cannot do calculations using 20 thousand variables. But let's do some math using a simple arithmetic. How much worth is Oyu Tolgoi deposit? It is officially confirmed by domestic and foreign specialists, and by authorized professional institutes that this mine's deposit contains 45 million ton copper and 1800 ton gold. Let's say, we extract 75% of all that. Now, let's estimate the price of this real wealth. As of August 2014, the average price for copper was 7005.15 USD per ton at the London Metal Exchange. With today's rate of Tugrik against USD (1840:1) and considering in average a 29% enriched copper concentration, the total value of copper deposit would be 434.957.715 million Tugrik. Plus, with one ounce being 31.1 gram and the average price of gold in August being 1294 USD per ounce, the value of 1800 ton of gold would be 103.353.569 million Tugrik. The total revenue from copper and gold amounts to 538.311.284 million Tugrik. This is the result of calculating the price of only two known metals-copper and gold- using the average value at the world market, without considering silver and other minerals which are found in the copper concentration.
Mongolian annual budget revenue is 7 trillion Tugrik. We produce and consume only 10 trillion Tugrik worth of goods in a year. 538 trillion equals our budget revenue of 76 years. That is the money we can get just by selling our copper and gold while doing nothing. 76 people have agreed to a deal which would lead to a loss of the fortune all 3 million of us could use for 76 years. I am writing this because the present 76 must not allow this to continue.

The numbers mentioned above are relative. Even though it's obvious that we cannot dig out all of it at once and sell it, this is our stand and basic assessment. This number will go up if copper price rises, and additional resources are discovered through more exploration. In most cases, in addition to the first confirmed deposit, there are more sources discovered during its development, as shown for example in Erdenet case. There are many ways to keep the production profitable without going down from the once achieved stage during the market price fluctuation. And Mongolia has own human resources and professionals who can do it.

Shouldn't we start talking from this standpoint, based on that simple arithmetic calculations? It does not need to be proved that within next decades the rising demand of copper and gold will not go down, and the value thereof as well. That is the main thing we have. Yes, we don't have the best management and the money to mine and process our wealth, but hey, Turquoise Hill, Ivanhoe Mines, and Rio Tinto do not have the necessary funds too, to finance this project. They raised funds with higher interests from the world finance market using our mine as deposit, and also charging us for the payment of the mediator who helped with the fundraising. To be exact, our partner who owns 66% , charges us, 34% owner, for the mediator costs, and that means that Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto are not investors but mediators. What a finance partner we have found! Knowing all this, our government is doing nothing. What a useless government we have! What a nation we are, tolerating such a government and choosing such people to power!

If we have had trusted our national companies and helped them to raise funds from the world banks and finance market, things would have had much better look today. Mongolia is not a country without any experiences. We have been earning profits from one of the world's 10 biggest copper mine which we have developed jointly with a powerful country. People involved in exploring the Erdenet deposit, in its mining, and in dealing with our partner, having participated in all that on every level, are working now in private sector, as well as in state-owned entities, and some of them are also on the dole. They should have been mobilized, and if there is a lack of knowledge or experience, we could have hired necessary professionals from the international labor market. Mongolians have brains and possibilities to do the same as Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto have invited best manager and professionals from the international labor market to work for them on a very attractive conditions, and also to buy the required equipment and techniques.

TWO. Let's sum up what happened at Oyu Tolgoi

In 2007 the investors have made a deal with Mongolian government about the development of Oyu Tolgoi deposit after having talks in three stages, and agreed to both drafts of Investment agreement and Shareholders' agreement. These agreement drafts and a resolution draft of the Parliament were submitted by then-Prime minister M.Enkhbold , together with the Chairman of the Cabinet Office, by handing them over to D.Lundaajantsan-then Speaker of the Parliament. In that first draft were included a concentrator plant with a capacity to process 54 million ton ore, underground and open pit, a power station, waste management facilities, infrastructure with accompanying entities and it was calculated that for all this needed 2.724 million USD. At that time, the price for one ton of copper was 7126 USD on global market. The Investment agreement was signed two years later, in 2009, when copper price was down to 5149 USD , but the amount of investment money was changed to 5.1 million from 2.7 million USD, almost doubled than as it was initially agreed to in 2007. Today, the other party would still not give any explanation as to why they doubled the investment money when the prices for energy and metals on global market were going down. Even I, as MP, couldn't get any response, let alone any ordinary citizen, in regards to this issue until today after I addressed all responsible subjects with this request. This would be the first big question we should demand an answer for.

The costs including owners' expenses, currency fluctuation and unexpected costs, and possible increase of costs make 17.5% (907 Mill.USD) of all costs. The costs for power plant could be saved since there is a power plant project has started at Tavan Tolgoi mine and Oyu Tolgoi is considered as the main buyer. There are talks going on with Oyu Tolgoi as consumer and not as investor.
One can see that in that investment is included everything from taking in account the currency fluctuation considering the possible risks, to developing of open pit and underground mining, building infrastructure, concentrator plant, power plant, and the closing costs. Certainly all these calculations are not made by just one person by heart.

Our partner and investor, superior than us in dealing with this matter, has paid the professional companies like Canadian AMMEK and Australian MINPROK to prepare a initial economic evaluation of Southern Oyu open pit and an extended version of evaluation including both northern and southern zones of Hugo Dummett deposit in 2006, in order to list the mineral reserves in the unified registrar of mineral resources. Also the final version of Technical and Economical Feasibility Study (TEFS) for both open pit and underground mining of Oyu Tolgoi deposit was prepared by the above mentioned companies in 2007-2008, based on confirmed estimation of copper-gold deposits. This final version of TEFS, prepared for three years by those experienced companies, chosen by the investor itself, was introduced to the Mineral Council of Mongolia in January 2010 and a ruling was issued. But why is it now an additional 4.9 billion USD required to start the underground mining? What expenses have gone up so high? We have the right to ask and get a clear answer for that question because we pay 34% of it, and we must ask firmly because today's as well as our future generation will be paying this debt. I demand an answer to this my second question.

THREE. In order to reach a mutual understanding, we must eliminate the differences of numbers. Without this, even a joint business in a small trade would fail. Even though it says in the Investment Agreement that approximately 1 billion USD was spent for the Oyu Tolgoi exploration, Ivenhoe Mines Mongolia Inc. has reported in its exploration statement that 171.7 billion MNT in total was spent for the exploration, including 74.8679 billion MNT for drilling, 8.9295 billion MNT for lab and tests, 3 billion MNT for core processing. The sum of these three expenses makes only 86.8 billion MNT, and the rest of 84.9 billion MNT from the total was left unexplained. All that needs to be reported, properly documented.

The results of the working group established by the joint order of Deputy Minister, Finance Minister and Mining Minister, and worked more than a year to investigate the excessive 2 billion USD investment of Oyu Tolgoi project, are still not available to the public. Even the members of the Parliament have not received it yet. That must be disclosed. In regards to the tax-related debt of 130 million USD, it might be a small amount compared to the numbers mentioned above, but Rio Tinto should be sincere and pay this money. Isn't that shameful for such a big company to dispute a tax debt of 130 million USD and intends to take it to international arbitration when Mongolians are granting a favorable condition to develop a treasure which can feed us for 100 years and plus borrowing money with interests?

In the Investment Agreement, signed and approved, the initial investment was set as 4 billion USD, but in TEFS received by the Mineral Council of Mongolia that number was given as 5.1 billion USD. Which one is the number we should stick to? One should deal with the next question after we receive clear answers to those plain questions. So, is it that the project was delayed by the Mongolian Government or is the other side at fault? It is all right if the Prime Minister meant it precisely by word when he said that "We are ready to resolve the investment issue." But if he meant that we agree on additional investment if necessary, then he should face a huge political responsibility.

Can't they understand Mongolia?

480 billion MNT had to be deducted from the budget income of last year due to the investment delay of Oyu Tolgoi project. We tightened our belt accordingly, and were not able to increase the food amount for our children at the kindergarten and daycare , let alone to raise the salary for their teachers. New kindergartens couldn't be built and children were to stay home forcing their mom and dad stay without jobs.
The parliamentary caucus of the "Justice" coalition had asked Da.Ganbold , a Mongolian representative in Oyu Tolgoi's board, particularly about this issue in the presence of Mongolian Prime Minister, Mining Minister, Minister of Economic Development and other officials.
When I heard a Mongolian saying that the cost over-runs also include the costs for Oyu Tolgoi"s foreign directors and officials who travel around the world with their wives and children, flying business class and staying in luxury hotels with a rate of 5000 USD per day, and when he tried to justify it by saying that we should understand the culture of high-level-people who represent big investors and deal with big monies, although it is not acceptable to us, I became very agitated.
Mongolians pay the 34 percent of all this by a loan with a high interest. All right, we understand them and we pay the 34 percent of it. Why they could not understand us?

Why they cannot understand that in fact Mongolian children have no kindergarten to go, and that classrooms for 25 students are overcrowded with 45 students, and that a teacher with a meager salary of 400 thousand MNT works with 40-50 students all day, and that we all get poisoned by toxic air, and that people are suffering and dying due to the insufficient number of hospitals and services, and that the newborns sleep with their mother on the floor at the maternity clinics? Is there no one who would explain all this and make them understand? Why not put someone else in this company to represent Mongolians and to explain and defend our interests? To defend Mongolia's interest in Oyu Tolgoi, we need someone who knows Mongolia, understands Mongolians, and who can sense own national interests of this country and people, but not somebody who just speaks English and has a foreign education.

Who is the lead goose, or the investor?

There is no one today or will be in the future who would say, let's put the Oyu Tolgoi in reservation and send the investors home.
Instead of calling those who speak out about defending own interests as populists or nationalists, and blaming them for chasing away investors and ruining the economy, and playing the smart ones, one should demonstrate own facts and numbers beneficial to Mongolia, against the ones mentioned above. An investor is not a butterfly you would not want to scare away from a flower. Using this opportunity, I want to say some words about the investor.

Mongolian law on investment states that an investment means the tangible and intangible assets attributed to the joint capital and reflected in financial statements of the business entities which are for profit oriented activities in the territory of Mongolia, and an investor means a foreign and domestic investor who make an investment in Mongolia, and that a foreign investor means a foreign legal entity or individual (a foreign citizen or stateless person who is non-resident in Mongolia as well as a Mongolian citizen residing permanently in a foreign country) that makes investment in Mongolia.

Let's see what happens in real life, comparing it to the words and sentences written in this law. Last spring Mongolians collapsed when the greenback strengthened sharply. The government has trembled, too. Why? Because the investment was reduced and the investors were chased away by those evil nationalists, said every smart mouth. The consequences of stalling of Oyu Tolgoi investment were cruel and Mongolians whose lives depend on dollar were almost ruined due to skyrocketed rate of Mr.Dollar who was scared off by those populists.

But imagine that the money called as Oyu Tolgoi investment on which depends our lives as some want to claim, does not go through Mongolian banks and financial organisations; instead it goes out directly being not a subject matter of our concern. In another words, it has not a smallest effect at all on stabilizing Tugrik and keeping the dollar rate steady. They even don't storage the concentration ore on Mongolia's territory but keep it at storehouses outside the border. Buying toilet papers from Mongolian stores, feeding Mongolians with rice meals bought from S.Bayartsogt's eatery, paying salaries to some Mongolians, and paying taxes, obligatory anywhere in the world, shouldn't be called as investment. Contempt might be a word too soft for that.

If describing the mandatory tax payments as our profit is not an offense, what is it? A trader does not count all his income as profit after selling all his goods. Anyone in Mongolia knows that the profit is what is left after paying taxes, rent fees, salesman salary, and subtracting the price for goods, costs for food and travel, etc.

An another example: Mongolia's Petroleum Law was passed this spring after much struggle. One of the great improvement of that law , introduced by the working group led by MP Kh.Bolorchuluun, is the part stating that the money flow of the foreign companies operating in this field should go through Mongolia's banks and financial entities. With effort from MANAN this law was defeated by 50:50 and another working group was formed with MP Ts.Nyamdorj in charge. But he reintroduced the law without that most important part and with approval of the majority the law was passed. MANAN still exists. We were reckless by believing that MANAN would disappear if MAN and AN would go separate, and reappear if they join together to govern. This MANAN was a very thick one and wouldn't disappear so easily. Every morning when we get up we should remind ourselves that MANAN which was built up in the past 24 years by mutual benefits and shared pockets, and trapped and hooked up themselves with their failures and sins, is still there , thicker than we thought.

It's the MANAN what makes MAN do the opposite while saying , "Dollar gets out of control. The Government should resign!" That is exactly what is called populism. And such people and party should be called populists.

We now know that the definition of investor as written in the law does not match with the real life and that we should clearly define and understand who is the investor- the butterfly we scared away thus allegedly triggered the dollar go crazy. Let's stop being fond of every golden-haired with money in the pocket and calling them as investor-butterfly. If the investment is the most important factor affecting Tugrik's rate, the investment should be redefined by reflecting that influence. As a lawmaker, I will be introducing an amendment to the investment law to make such changes. So, let's ask ourselves again: Is the operator company of Oyu Tolgoi project an Investor?

One. Mongolians borrowed 1.7 billion dollars with 6.5% interest in order to jointly develop the Oyu Tolgoi mine (Interest-on-interest is paid too)Two. The loan interest fee of this company has reached 500 million dollars since 2009 and we started paying 34% of that fee. Three. The enormous amount of money of Oyu Tolgoi and the payment from selling of concentration ore do not go through Mongolia's banks and therefore it has no influence in stabilizing the currency rate.Four. We have practically become dependent on this company, hailed as the biggest investor, because any interruption of production would trouble Mongolia's budget.

That is how the lead goose looks like. The second one would demand more since the first one set such an example. Are we going to survive if such geese come in flock? May such goose not come to us in flocks.

My suggestions

ONE. We should get clear answers to the questions mentioned above. I am going to demand it in the name of the Mongolian people along with my friends. After that, the next issues will be able to get fixed. In order to run this project risk free, beneficial to all and properly, a right order needs to be set, and the very first thing is to have clear, honest and complete answers to those questions.

TWO. Oyu Tolgoi project is the first aim of the flock of geese. The next geese should have a proper information about the development of this project and any issues or disputes related to it. We don't have such amount of money to counter the propaganda against Mongolia"s government and Mongolians, lavishly paid by Rio Tinto. Therefore let's open a website which contains all the information about the development of this project, and let's introduce it to the world. This will bring all the information to both natives and foreign people openly in proper manner. One cries out always that the investors were scared off because of the false information. But anyone knows that an investor would not run away from a treasure which is ready to be possessed. There is not too much money needed to prove to the world that Mongolia's government and Mongolians are not evil people scaring off the investors, and that all they demand is only a fairness. When Mongolia's government introduces officially that website, it is enough to distribute the news to all world media organs using the only state-owned media agency Montsame which cooperates with major news agencies of the world.

THREE. Before all this, it is important that we Mongolians should unify our standpoint regarding Oyu Tolgoi, and if we could come together it can be improved. But I personally feel that it might be very difficult. Those who signed the agreement with an investment increased by billions of dollars by yielding the other side are not many, but they just represent the front. This was carried out by a whole gang. If this agreement gets nullified, everybody involved will be exposed. Maybe they are being held captive by that circumstance. Calling us populists, or as people scaring off the investors, or as ignorant street people who cannot do calculations with 20 thousand variables is just the cover-up, not the answer. To tighten its grip and increase the profits, they keep pushing Mongolians along with their government to raise the investment fund. If we can make those who signed the agreement responsible, politically, then we could free ourselves from that grip. As the saying goes, committing murder as a result of being embarrassed, we can't let us falling into more debt just to cover the bribes of some people, can we? Should we , being modest, allow us more debt we could not possibly pay off in our lifetime, or stop it while our loss being minimal, unless Rio Tinto becomes more reasonable and fair, since Mongolians won't die of hunger after all without selling Oyu Tolgoi, right?

Better scare it off than being exploited

The message we deliver to the world must be clear and fair. This is not difficult, nor it requires lot of money. Would it be reasonable for others to run away following Rio Tinto, in case Rio Tinto leaves, instead of competing to take its place? Rio Tinto is scaring off other investors in order to dominate in Mongolia. It is their wish to scare off others by making Mongolia look bad. The development of the project has been delayed because Rio Tinto does not play fair. There is a big opportunity to make money in Mongolia's Oyu Tolgoi if one plays only a fair game.

In the end the guilty parties are the government which brought us in such a situation and those who signed the agreement. We should look at ourselves first and those whom we elected before start swearing at Rio Tinto. The investors are not the kind-hearted Jesus, Buddha or mother Theresa who want us to become developed and be rich, nor the beautiful butterflies one wouldn't dare to scare off from flowers. They are just people who want to invest their money in rewarding projects for profits. They are smart. They know how to approach and talk to people who know their rights, how to defend their interests and have strong self-esteem. They know also how to talk to people who dishonor own country, don't understand own interest and how to defend it, and those who can be trapped by money, as well as how to tighten their grip and, what to take and how.

People who mistakenly regard their spoken English as education, view the money as their measurement of everything and set it as their target, whose brains , far distant from the root and not immune anymore, are washed by neo-liberal propaganda, cannot be the power to stand against it. Instead they form the fifth colony, serving the other side by claiming they were loyal to their beliefs.

Lastly, I want to say few words to our dear INVESTOR. You have started the work based on the TEFS, prepared by the company of your choice and accepted by the people you bribed. Now, do your job with the money approved because we can't allow us more loss. Complete all the work listed in the project according to the agreement approved officially on October 6. 2009. If you want to talk about raising the funds for underground mining, a new situation will emerge where the Investment agreement and the Shareholders' agreement need to be discussed anew. Same as in, if somebody wants to sell his house for 100 million and made an agreement with the buyer, but the deal will have to made anew if the next day seller wanted 300 million instead, or there is going to be no deal at all.

As the world leading company and as intelligent people, you must give an answer to my questions above. Fairness is a very important, not measurable, nor comparable thing in a cooperation. Buying a Mongolian does not mean you can do it with all Mongolian. Mongolians are people who can be fair if treated fairly. I have the hope that only after all disputed questions are cleared, our cooperation will succeed and we can work together for our mutual benefit. But if you decide to keep on exploitation, repelling shall be the right choice for us.

Explanation:1. Mungh - smallest monetary unit equals 1/100 of the basic monetary unit (tugrik)2. 20 thousand variables- referring to what MP Bayartsogt said at the TV debate about Oyu Tolgoi agreement by defending the agreement that it includes precise calculations made using methods with 20 thousand variables.3. Tugrik - Mongolian currency , abbr. MNT4. 76 people - the total number of members of the Mongolian Parliament5. Erdenet - a copper mine jointly developed with Russia (still producing concentration)6. Tavan Tolgoi - a major coal mine close to Oyu Tolgoi7. S.Bayartsogt - an MP from Democratic Party8. MANAN - nickname for the coalition of the two main parties, MAN (abbr. in Mongolian for Mongolian People's Party) and AN (for Democratic Party), making a term meaning "Fog" in Mongolian)

I urge our readers to read the following assessment issued by the Oyu Tolgoi Watch almost 4 years ago:http://www.miningwatch.ca/sites/www.miningwatch.ca/files/OT_issues.pdf . Things looked problematic back then, and as MP Uyanga mentioned in her recent press conference, the issue about the differences of salaries between domestic (Mongolian) and foreign workers still exists today and she gave just one example to prove it:A Mongol welder gets 71.6 thousand MNT a month while a foreign worker in the same position get paid 1.8 million MNT monthly for the same job. (With the current exchange rate between MNT and USD-1888:1, that would be $38 VS $953). That is 25 times (!) more than what Mongolian worker receives. Is that some kind of exploitation? As they are praised as the top leading company with a worldwide reputation, it is hard to believe that Rio Tinto is taking advantage of native workers by abusing them with such underpayments! Are they trying to make a profit from it? They should be ashamed of that, and I doubt very much that with such an attitude and unfairness towards Mongolians, they will be not welcomed, nor respected, maybe even hated by the natives. If both sides hate each other, no business shall be made between them. Business should be based on trust, fairness and mutual respect.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Sarita Devi, an Indian boxer in 60 kg category, was a class higher than her opponent, a host-country boxer, in the semifinal of the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, but nevertheless the judges blindly did a favor to the South Korean boxer, probably in return for the "gifts" they received from the host.

You think judges and the host are getting slandered? Well then, please explain how on earth can they decide all in favor of the one who literally beaten so bad? Ordinary people who have no idea of giving points or all that scoring mechanism can even see who was the better one. Not only the better one but , as I said, was a better class! The whole world saw it. There is an another way to explain this "mysterious" decision by those judges but this one also rules out any justification: the judges were so incompetent to make a right decision. There is no way one would hire such incapable judges who don't know how to give points or evaluate a fair and honest decision. The best ones should be sitting there to make the right judgement about the athletes performances, and I am sure they were chosen based on their rank or status. And that fact leads the way back to my first allegation about being bribed. Shame on those judges and shame on AIBA (International Boxing Association)!

Host country athlete gets the win even tough lost

One could "understand" the behavior of those judges for trying to make a "little wealth" for themselves by accepting whatever the host had offered, but I cannot understand the reaction from AIBA which normally should stand for fairness in competitions but instead they blamed the Indian boxer for not accepting the unfair decision and the bronze medal at the ceremony. Can you believe this? It's like defending the rapist while blaming the one who got raped! The spokesperson of AIBA says, they feel offended by Sarita's action of refusing to accept the bronze medal. Offended? Oh my! Just cut the crap! Sarita is the one who should be offended, and now the AIBA threatens to ruin this poor woman's career by banning her to participate in international competitions.

Protest in social media

A supervisor and technical delegate named David Francis has submitted a report to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) concerning the case. You know what he wrote in his report? You wouldn't believe it! He wrote,"The whole incident looked like a well planned scenario by her and her team, and it is regretful to watch a boxer refuse the medal regardless of what happened in the competition."

Regardless what happened in the competition ? Seriously? It's like saying, "Just shut up and accept whatever you get!" Additionally he wrote , "In this regard, as the technical delegate, I had to request OCA to review this incident , so any boxer or athlete in other sports will not follow in her steps by respecting the spirit of fair-play and sportsmanship of the Olympic movement."

The people around the world are outraged

Was he joking? Who is the one trying to respect the sportsmanship and demands a fair-play? Sarita Devi, not you Mr.Francis! She did it by her action, but you, Mr.Francis, did the opposite by blaming her action and defending your irresponsible and shameless judges! Sportsmanship does not mean to stay "dumb and quiet" after being unfairly cheated and accept the outcome! If Sarita, or any other athlete who got cheated, should shut the mouth and accept this nonsense without a "fight", then why bother to talk about a fair-play anyway? AIBA should stop talking about fair-play and pretending to promote it, really. At the end, the powerful party (AIBA or OCA) got away with a win, forcing the poor Sarita to issue an apology for her action of refusing to accept her medal. She was "generously" pardoned with a "strong warning" for her "misbehavior." With this decision, OSA proved that it will defend their (judges') decision, no matter whether it's wrong or right, and gave a warning to all athletes not to mess with the governing body.

A fair-play? Fuck you!

Well, forget about the fair-play and all that bullshit. As the OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Al -Fahad Al -Sabah mentioned, any athlete should respect the referee's decision, right or wrong, and that says everything.

They just ruined all the yearlong hard-work and effort of this Indian boxer, a potential gold winner, by a "finger-snapping", just like that. And all that was to save their reputation and image. I thought like many others that sport should serve the friendship and peace between the people from around the world and bring them closer to understand each other, but it has changed a lot "thanks to" those people in charge of the organisations like AIBA or OCA. Because of the lack to maintain the fair-play in competitions, the sport has become a "war without arms" between nations and a root of hatred towards each other. All countries and athletes who ever experienced such unfairness, should protest and change the rules and fire the ones who ignore this kind of shameless practice, otherwise it will not stop!

Social media protest

Rich and big countries could influence the judges or referees to decide favorably for their athletes, and this injustice causes outrage and even hatred. The idea and goal of the sport is being more and more manipulated by those in charge, but they don't care, and keep "promoting" fair-play and sportsmanship. OCA president said that they received 5 letters from different National Olympic Committees complaining about the boxing at this Asian Games. Here he talks about the boxing only, and but there are more about wrestling competitions too. What's the use of organizing such events if these were to make people's relations worse? I am sure that Sarita's family hate the host for being so cruel to rob her the silver (and maybe the gold medal). Believe me, it's not an exaggeration. I would do the same if I was the family member of the "victim." Why would you make people "enemies" I wanted to ask AIBA and OCA. Just to keep your seats and your earnings? Don't you feel a shame? Even a little bit?

Incheon = Incheat

Mongolian athletes were also not saved from this kind of trouble, with at least one top athlete in boxing (Tugstsogt) was eliminated because of the unfair decision by the judges when he was the better one in the ring. Mongolian team appealed the decision but the decision remained unchanged. Besides, there were some awful incidents happened to our athletes and our country's image was humiliated.

Warning (Korean Embassy website)

The Korean embassy in Mongolia has recently issued a warning to Korean citizens who are in Mongolia to be careful and advised them not to go out at night or get in argument with Mongolians, and refrain from going to restaurants or bars at night, and take precautions when accompanied by Mongolian woman and wear sunglasses. The reason? Very simple. There are some reasons why they are concerned about the safety of own citizens in Mongolia. It is all related to the fact how they "treated" Mongolian teams and Mongolia as a whole during the Asian Games 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. What did they do "wrong"?

1. In the website of the Asian Games the name of Mongolia was written as Mongolia-China which perceived by Mongolians as an insult with intention. It's hard to believe that Koreans have such an ignorant people maintaining this website , without any knowledge or proper information about the countries competing in this Asian Games in South Korea. (They have it corrected later after complaining)2. Mongolian flag was hoisted upside down. Again, careless action or a provocation? Mind to mention that no other countries' flag was raised upside down!

Mongolian flag seen upside down (red circle)

3. In the meal given to Mongolian athletes were found a used pad (or liner) with blood. Yes, I am talking about those liners women use during their monthly period! An accident? I don't think so. How would a used liner end up in the meal they served to our athletes? Why it was not in the meal served to athletes from other countries?

A clean pad or liner

Mongolian Facebook users share a photo-shopped picture of the Korean flag in protest of feeding Mongolian athletes with women's pads. Well, who would like to be fed like this? I don't buy the version that Korean female cooks threw their used pads into the food meant to be given to Mongolian athletes by mistake.

So, I feel insulted and the Koreans should blame or be angry at their own people who were in charge of this stupidity or initiated this idea of humiliating Mongolians. Here is the response to this offense - a picture showing Korean flag with used women-pads, all bloody.

One can say that Koreans running this Asian Games have disappointed also in securing a fair-play in some disciplines like boxing and wrestling (Check this out how they robbed Iranian wrestler the win) . Mongolian and Indian boxers were "robbed" of their wins by the judges who might be bribed by Korean officials. What else can it be (or how can you explain) that an athlete who dominated gets the lowest score while the host country-athlete (Korean athlete) who was hammered wins? ( Read more about this here .)

Doing a favor for the host country should be not that cheap because those judges put their reputation or position at risk by doing so, but the International Boxing Federation and the Organizing Committee of this Asian Games don't care. People comment on this: "If the bribe is right, you win the fight." Seems like it. Fair nations should protest this kind of "robbery" with one voice, otherwise your athlete might be the next victim. Besides, why compete if there is no fair play? Why bother to gather together and talk about friendship between nations and athletes?

According to the head official of the Mongolian athletes, the Organizing Committee of the Asian Games in Inchoen, South Korea have discussed about disqualifying all Mongolian athletes from the Games in response to the reaction of some Mongolian fans who in protest of unfair judgement threw water bottles to the floor and booed so loudly. Well, then we should maybe just leave this Asian Games and return all the medals to the Committee.

After all the incidents happened already and Mongolians have protested through their Embassy in South Korea, the Organizing Committee has sent an apology letter to our Embassy in South Korea, but the damage is done and the Koreans hurt their image and reputation badly. Shame on you, Korea! Boo-o-o!!p.s. Unfortunately, those who were not treated fairly (India, Mongolia, Iran) reacted differently to this unacceptable behavior and practice by the ruling body and its executives (officials and judges). While Mongolia's officials protested and fought for justice and fairness defending own athletes, Indian officials were "ashamed" of Sarita's action. They say, "We cannot let her malign India's stature in front of the world media". Unbelievable!

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Just before the Chinese President visited Mongolia, Chinese social media was busy spreading an article posted on August 6th at the website http://www.xilu.com/ , so called "China's first military portal." As some of you might have guessed it, it deals with Mongolia. ( Click here for the Chinese link if you can read Chinese and here for translation into Mongolian if you know Mongolian. )
Before I comment on this ridiculous article with some phony claims, I should repeat, as I do always, that this kind of behavior and attitude towards the Mongol nation and Mongolia as a whole, seemingly ignored and tolerated by the Chinese government, is one of the main reason why we Mongols cannot get along with the Chinese. This shameless lie and distortion of the history went so far that the majority of the Chinese people , young and old, home and abroad, believe this propaganda and thus behave "accordingly." Let me quote some parts from this article and correct it for those who are not familiar with the history of these two nations or those who might be confused or brainwashed by Chinese propaganda similar to this.

In part 1, it begins with a pity statement that Mongolia is having a hard time and the "motherland" should help the "own part of flesh and bone" which was separated from its "home". It says, literally translated: "China and Mongolia were one family, connected through flesh and blood. History has ruthlessly divided us, brought us together and divided again as a result of our own causes and interests of foreign powers. And that is how Mongolia was put in a difficult situation where it cannot return to its homeland, left alienated outside of its home for a long time. Especially, by the end of the World War-2, Mongolia was ruthlessly cut off from its motherland and became an "independent state", as a condition for starting a war against the Japanese military. This was not just an incompetence of the motherland but also a disgrace. Can we as a multi-ethnic nation neglect this nation of some million people? No, absolutely not. Has this nation abandoned its own homeland? The answer is no."
Furthermore there were given 3 reasons which caused the "loss" of Mongolia : The strong national pride was ignored by the motherland, the policy of neighboring powers to expand their territories, and the weakness and incompetence of motherland. Part 1 ends with a question: Right and wrong has become a history, so why we cannot start it all over again and determine our future?
Here's my response. First of all, Mongols and Chinese are totally different nations with different cultures, lifestyle, languages and occupied own separate territories for thousands of years, as neighbors of course. The history tells us that we (Mongols and Chinese) were not always good neighbors. There were many clashes and wars between these two nations, occupying each other's territories , taking turns. One represented a sedentary lifestyle (the Chinese) while the other had a nomadic way of living (the Mongols). A donkey-rider versus horse-rider, so to speak. Or rice-eater vs meat-eater. So we were NOT a family, let alone relatives with "flesh and blood connection." Want a scientific proof? Here we go. My DNA tells me that I belong to Haplogroup C, or C3 to be exact. Chinese people belong to Haplogroup F.
A haplogroup is a group of similar haplotypes that share a common ancestor. (More on this pls read here Mongol gene ).

As for being "united" and "divided", the author of that article is just playing with words. From the ancient times on the steppe nomads were always a "pain in the ass" for the Chinese people who lived to the south of the Mongolian steppes and desert. The physical barrier they built at their northern border (to protect themselves from the attack by their northern neighbor-nomads) well-known as the Great Wall of China , now a tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage site, couldn't be much of help later on when Mongols invaded China in 1271. Construction of this wall which marked the mutual border between the warring nations, started during the Qin dynasty (221 BC) and was later improved during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).
In 3rd century BC, nomadic tribes were united and established so called Hunnu empire (also spelled Xiongnu empire) which is considered as the first statehood of the nomads- the ancestors of the Mongols. The threat was enormous and it is no wonder why Chinese came up with the idea to build such a huge wall; probably they were desperate. All territories north of that wall belonged to the nomads, but today we see a totally different picture. So there is no "family re-union" or "separation" bullshit.

But instead if we are talking about invading each other or forcing the other to do something against their will, yes there were times that kind of things happened in our history. What country or nation didn't experience such troubles? There was times when Mongols invaded the whole China and ruled for almost a century (Yuan Empire, 1271-1368). Kublai khaan was the King. He was officially declared as the Great Khaan of the Mongol Empire which consisted of 4 Khanates one of which was that Yuan Empire (homeland Mongolia, whole China, Tibet, Korea) ruled by Kublai himself. One can say, Mongols created a united China which was divided before the invasion. (more on Mongolia's history see here )
Yes there were times when Mongolia was officially (de jure) considered as an autonomous region of China after the three-party agreement between Russia, Mongolia and China in 1915 (Treaty of Kyakhta). A weak Mongolia was forced to sign it under pressure and a plot organized by its two neighbors. Only after WW2, in 1945 Mongolia's neighbors (Russia and China) recognized its independence. So, that means Mongolia was "part" of China for 30 years (1915-1945) although Mongolian troops chased away Chinese soldiers out of the country already in 1921. And that means also that Mongolia was NOT "part of China" before 1915!

Now the Chinese would say, Mongolia was part of Qing dynasty known as Manchu dynasty (1644-1912) and that is why China as the successor of the Qing dynasty can claim Mongolia as its "own."
Well, first, Manchu people are not Chinese, therefore Manchu Empire is NOT Chinese, second, as one of the "slaves" suffered under Manchu rule, the Chinese have no right to claim "ownership" of Mongolia. Maybe Chinese have hurt more than Mongols did under Manchu rule. It was the Manchu people who invaded Mongolia piece by piece using the internal feud among major Mongol khanates. The Chinese didn't do it. Ironically and tragically, it was the Mongol kings who gave the Manchu armies military assistance to invade China. What would you be called when you claim someone's work as your own? I would be a shameless A-hole! Even if... even if it were the Chinese who invaded Mongolia (not the Manchus), they should have no right to claim for others' territories.

Yeah yeah.. The Qing empire was based in China and Manchus were later assimilated to Chinese culture and adopted Chinese way to administer and run the government. But in the end it was a foreign occupation anyway, under which the Chinese population much suffered and eventually it led to a revolt and finally the foreign ruler was overthrown in 1911. As much as the Chinese want to make and believe Qing empire as their "own", it is not. It was a foreign rule under which not only Chinese people suffered, but also Mongols, Koreans and Tibetans.
In contrary, we Mongols should claim for the lost part of our territory, called Inner Mongolia from the Manchu era, which belongs now to China. Inner Mongolia or aka Southern Mongolia is the southern part of then-Mongolia and it was the first land invaded by the Manchus who later occupied the rest of Mongolia after some years, wisely profiting from the struggle for power among the Mongolian kings and using them against each other. Mongolian warriors fought against each other, killing themselves for nothing because of some stupid khaans.

China is NOT my motherland and never was, and Chinese is not the language I speak. My mother tongue is Mongolian. If the Chinese insult us and keep publishing such a propaganda, we Mongols shall not consider them as a friendly neighbor and respect them. Forget about being partners and even friends. Let me repeat: Respect for respect, and insult for insult. Make your choice.

p.s. The article discussed here was a long one so I didn't follow or quote , and responded to every offensive remarks about Mongolia's history, or current situation, or threats. The main idea of that article was that we have no choice but to follow what Russia and China tell us, and forget about others (US, EU, Japan) because they are the "bad guys." The author threatened us that if we don't follow their steps we would be ruined, and maybe Russia will allow China to take Mongolia back! What a big mouth!
Anyways, I am writing this so that the world gets a real picture about what is going on between Mongolia and China, and especially what their people talk and think respectively.

In an article posted on a Russian website tells about the Chinese migration to Russia. The author says, there are two nations on earth who think that they are different (better) than the others; others being the ones of lower "class." The one is the Jew who publicize openly that they are the better race, and the other one is the Chinese who thinks everyone else is a barbarian. (read in Russian here )
It is not that difficult to understand that racism alone does not cause hatred. People's attitude to one another and behavior is the main reason why people dislike each other. And how far we can go like this? Till the earth vanishes? Will China's President Xi Jinping still tolerate something totally contrary to what he said in Mongolia during his official visit? He said: - We should respect and trust each other, and we should be good neighbors.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

The time showed 1:29:00 in the World Champoinship Day 1 video posted by the International Judo Federation (IJF) on Youtube.com ( watch here ) when one of the commentators called Ganbat's action "ridiculous." They were referring to Ganbat's attack and his glance at the referee afterwards. And this glance was a "ridiculous" action in th eyes of those commentators who were not so excited at all that a Mongolian wrestler won the final. Apparently they preferred others (the Russian who won Silver or the Georgian who won Bronze, or maybe the Japanese who shared the third place) to win the gold, but not the Mongol. The more I listen to what they say during the fights involving Ganbat, the more I got the feeling that they have a strong antipathy or a big disfavor towards the Mongolian wrestler. I think any sport commentators should not be biased or take one particular side, especially if we are talking about big international events like world competitions, but these commentators did just the opposite. They "represent" the IJF as you will, but they forgot to stay "neutral" and be "fair" to everyone whatever country she/he is from. They are not some fans who cheer for their favorite competitors.

As you can see in that video, Ganbat had brought down his opponent on his back, a move he hoped was worth a point and checked it by throwing a quick look at the referee. What wrestler don't do it? Why was it "ridiculous"? There wasn't anything "ridiculous", it was the reaction of those commentators which I'd call really ridiculous. In that whole fight it was obvious that Ganbat was the one who attacked all the time trying to score, but he couldn't. That is totally normal when top wrestlers compete against each other in big events like this Championship or Olympics. It happens often that the fight is decided by penalty scores. And the one who was more active, wins, and that was the case here. The commentators know it very well, but then why they "complained" about the "not impressive" wins by Ganbat, you think? Again, the explanation is simple: They didn't like the new Champion from Mongolia. They say, Ganbat was the spoiler and it wasn't best of finals. What did they expect? You have two evenly strong wrestlers and expect a fight like a teacher demonstrates some show to his pupil? Be real! Besides, this is judo and not a freestyle wrestling! During the ceremonies they were laughing about "just one smile" shown on Ganbat's face , apparently referring to his "lack of emotion". They again belittled Ganbat for showing "not attractive" judo and talking some bullshit meaning that all that mattered for him was the win of gold medal and not how to win. I wouldn't necessarily call them racist; they just don't like to see a Mongol on the very top. They just don't. Why? You have to ask them.

World champion Ganbat B. (Mongolia)

These guys even went so far that they call the two Mongolian wrestlers in this category as "dark horses." And one of those "dark horses" stepped up and won gold, they say. Are you kidding me? Ganbat, a 3rd ranked wrestler of the world, is a "dark horse"? And his opponent in that final was the Russian Mudranov who was seated 4th in the world rank. But it seems like, as number 3-seat, Ganbat was still a "surprise" for them. In the end, all top seated 4 wrestlers were on the podium. So there was no surprise at all! Just the color of the medals changed their owners, and that happens. Hope that these commentators didn't think that number one-seat should win the gold, and number two the silver etc. No, no, they didn't. They just didn't like the persona of the gold medal. The reason? Again, email them and ask.

By the way, that kind of behavior and attitude towards sportsmen from "little" countries, shown by the commentators like these two guys and especially referees who decide the fate of the competition, do still exist, and one can witness it often. If sport should serve the friendship and peace between the people of the world, that kind of nonsense should not be tolerated. Unfortunately it seems to continue.